Few things will surprise an actual New Yorker, but wedding favors at City Hall?
Well, yes, really, and it’s all part of a decided effort by the Big Apple to steal some of Las Vegas’ multi-million dollar business.
Impossible as it may seem, industry observers know that Sin City has long been the number one destination for couples to get hitched in the United States – certainly, marriage is the second-largest revenue stream after gambling.
Thus New York City, another of the country’s premier tourist venues, now wants in on some of that action.
Gotham now boasts a newly renovated Manhattan Marriage Bureau, located in the Municipal Building across the street from City Hall, with twenty-four thousand square feet of floorspace that includes two individual chapels.
Moreover, various items common or useful to a wedding ceremony are may be bought, from flowers and bridal bouquets to hairspray and nasal tissues.
And though no wedding favors as such are saved to offer just yet, it’s doubtful that they can be far behind, given the supply of such items as faux-diamond rings and two-karat mugs.
Renovated at a cost of some twelve million dollars, work for the new Manhattan Marriage Bureau was overseen by an trendy designer of celebrity homes in a bid to contend with Las Vegas’ extravaganza.
While no one is certain just how much money the city had anticipated to reap from touting New York as a marriage destination, it seems like a positive bet – particularly if they add in wedding favors to the gift shop!
It isn’t just the physical structure that has gone through an upgrade; the very procedure for applying for a marriage license has been streamlined, and metal detectors and security guards no longer corral visitors as if entering a prison – surely a mostinauspicious atmosphere for starting married life!
